AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Feb. 17, 2025 — The children’s technology startup Polymath has received $1 million USD in funding. This initial angel round investment included participation from ClassDojo’s CTO, Liam Don, followed by a pre-seed round co-led by Blackbird Ventures and GD1. This funding will accelerate Polymath’s expansion into the U.S. market, delivering engaging math learning to over 23 million children.
Polymath is a learning game children enjoy. While kids spend considerable time on screens outside of school, they dedicate minimal time to educational apps. Instead, they engage in gaming, watching videos, and social media. Polymath addresses this by combining an adaptive learning algorithm with a game-based world, captivating thousands of elementary-aged children for an average of 30 minutes per session. Data indicates that regular Polymath users learn up to twice as fast as those who don’t use the app.
Liam Don Supports Polymath
Liam Don, CTO and co-founder of ClassDojo, invested in Polymath during its angel round. ClassDojo, an edtech company with over 50 million users (teachers and families), connects home and school learning.
Don praises Polymath’s user-centric approach: “Most learning products have limited educational value. This team has developed a cutting-edge product already making a significant impact. Their dedication to transforming education with technology kids enjoy and a focus on meaningful learning outcomes is inspiring and sets a high standard for children’s products.”
A Dedicated Team
Polymath’s founders, and Silver are committed to combating the decline in mathematics achievement over the past 20 years. Sophie’s passion for education began by creating games for children while studying human learning at UCL. Christian, a Cambridge Computer Science graduate, helped transform those ideas into a dynamic learning app.
“Polymath prioritizes children. Our goal is to improve global education, which requires children’s engagement. We’re making learning exciting and developing a learning algorithm to deliver results”, says Sophie Silver, Polymath’s CEO and co-founder.
Integrated Learning Inside and Outside the Classroom
Polymath is used at home and in schools. The school version engages students and serves as a bridge to the home experience, assuring parents of its educational value.
Polymath is used both at home and in classrooms. It’s free for teachers to use, making integration into lesson plans easy. Educators in states such as AZ, VA, SF, FL, TX, and CA are already enthusiastic about the app.
Children use Polymath at home because they enjoy it. At home, they access all game features, reinforcing learning through play. “GD1’s investment in Polymath stemmed from the team’s clear user focus. Their rapid iteration and engagement with teachers and parents demonstrated a commitment to creating a product children genuinely love. This dedication to learning through understanding early users was key to our early belief. We eagerly anticipate Sophie, Christian, and the team’s future achievements,” says Vignesh Kumar, Co-Managing Partner at GD1.
Combining Learning with Fun: Polymath’s Distinguishing Features
Polymath feels like a game—featuring collecting, building, and multiplayer aspects. At its core, an adaptive algorithm personalizes learning to each child’s progress. To complete a task, a child might measure dimensions or identify a bad deal. Polymath guides children toward activities matching their skill levels.
“Observing Christian and Sophie, I was impressed by their ability to iterate quickly, incorporate user feedback, and create a game with remarkably long session times, considering it involves math! This is a dedicated team delivering a product that children love, and parents appreciate their children’s enjoyment,” says Phoebe Harrop, General Partner at Blackbird Ventures.
The team has developed a fraction of Polymath’s potential. They’re working on a more dynamic world with activities like farming and pet care, as well as multiplayer features to foster learning motivation among children.
“We constantly experiment with new features in our game world. Testing new characters and question types. We introduce new ideas almost daily. The entire team, including engineers, works with children to get immediate feedback on what’s fun and what’s not,” says Christian Silver, Polymath’s CTO and co-founder.
Future Outlook
With this funding, Polymath will expand in the U.S. and introduce collaborative play, enhancing the collaborative learning experience.
Already used by tens of thousands of children globally, Polymath continues to grow in the U.S., U.K., New Zealand, and Australia.
Discover Polymath at .
About Polymath Polymath is a child-centered app that transforms screen time into a positive, productive, and enjoyable experience. Through personalization and interactive gameplay, Polymath empowers children’s learning and growth, providing parents with peace of mind.
SOURCE Polymath
“`